Even More Out Of The Hat
by Fabulous 32
Summary: A trilogy of cheesy assignements for Glee Club. Santana POV. Third in series - 'Out of the Hat' and 'More Out of the Hat' plus What More Out of the Hat.
1. What Makes A Show Tune

**Even More Out Of The Hat.**

**I do not own Glee or any of the songs or musicals mentioned.**

In Santana's opinion Mr Shue was suffering from a serious case of jazz hands as he took the Glee club through the routine for their new number – _'There's No Business Like Show Business'. _She was not in the mood for a show tune and certainly not one with this much cheese.

Coach Sylvester had already given her a hard time during Cheerio's practice that afternoon. Santana had been caught rolling her eyes after the coach announced her big plan for regionals; to have a cheerio shot from a canon.

Now Mr Shue's jazz squares were really getting her down. Even Kurt looked miserable and he lived for show tunes.

"Now I think this next move is really exciting." said Mr Shue, "You roll your hands with a right foot slide before popping with a…"

Santana sighed and looked heavenward as the jazz hands appeared again.

"… Santana is there a problem?" asked Mr Shue catching her display of disgust.

_"God,"_ thought Santana, _"I'm really going to have to watch myself. That's the second time I've been caught out today." _

"It's all just a bit too cheesy." said Santana.

"It's a show tune." said Rachel. "It's meant to be corny its part of the song."

Of course Rachel was keen to continue, she was singing the lead, yet again, after all.

"Well surely there are classier show tunes out there." protested Santana. "Ones that don't require jazz hands!"

"We do seem to default to the cornier songs." agreed Mercedes.

"And doing this all the time." moaned Quinn, doing the jazz hands pose,"Is just so lame."

There was a lot of murmuring and nodding heads as the rest of Glee Club agreed.

A gleam appeared in Mr Shuester's eye and Santana swore under her breath; here comes another lame assignment. At least it would give her a break from those god damn jazz hands!

…

Santana walked into Glee rehearsal the next day her pinkie linked with Brittany's. There was an ominous cardboard box sitting on the piano.

"We'll be getting an assignment today." Santana confided to Brittany nodding towards the box. "Something to do with show tunes."

"How can you be sure?" asked Brittany.

"Mr Shue had that look in his eyes yesterday."

"Goody." exclaimed Brittany suddenly smiling, "I always like Glee assignments. They're way more fun than English assignments."

Santana smiled too, thanks to Brittany's enthusiasm, and they took their seats on the back row.

Mr Shuster entered, eagerly rubbing his hands together.

"Okay guys, yesterday you were complaining about cheesy show tunes so I have a new assignment for you. I am going to put you into teams and give you a movie to watch. You are to pick a song from the film to perform at the end of the week – simple."

Puck raised his hand.

"Our assignment is to watch a movie?"

"That's right. The thirties, forties and fifties saw an explosion of glamorous musical movies. I have a selection of DVDs from the local library, one film per team."

Santana relaxed slightly this didn't seem so bad.

"So," continued Mr Shue, "On to the teams." He pulled the first DVD from the cardboard box, "_Singing in the Rain_ for Mercedes, Finn and Mike."

The threesome exchanged looks as Mr Shue handed Mercedes the DVD box.

Mr Shue pulled out the next DVD.

"_High Society_ for Puck and Matt."

Puck got the film from Mr Shue.

"Doesn't this film have Frank Sinatra in it." he asked looking at the DVD jacket.

"That's right."

Puck instantly looked much happier and gave Matt a high five.

The next DVD out of the box was _Gentlemen Prefer Blondes._

"This one is for Brittany…"

Santana crossed her fingers that her name would be called next.

"… and Tina."

Brittany high-fived Tina, before giving Santana a sad smile. Santana surveyed her possible remaining partners; Rachel, Artie, Quinn and Kurt.

_"Okay."_ She thought, _"Anyone but Rachel."_

The next DVD was a Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movie _Shall We Dance_ which Mr Shue gave to Quinn and Artie.

Santana came to the decision that Mr Shue was definitely punishing her for complaining yesterday. He was going to make her do a musical number with Kurt and Rachel, Mr and Mrs Showtime.

This time the movie was _Kiss Me Kate._

"This one is for Rachel and Kurt." said Mr Shue passing the DVD to an excited Rachel. "And finally in a team of one, Santana you have _Summer Stock._"

Santana looked at Mr Shue with new eyes. The guy definitely had a mean streak. She would be all alone in her humiliation.

"I must admit I am curious as to which numbers you will pick." He finished.

Rachel raised a hand,

"Can we wear costumes?"

"If you like." said Mr Shue. "Put as much showmanship in your number as you can!"

Everyone was muttering eagerly with their team mate. Even Brittany had abandoned her best friend to discuss the film with Tina. Santana looked at the DVD in her hand. It was a movie she had never heard of, she recognised Judy Garland grinning at her from the front cover but beyond that she had no idea what was in store.

…

Santana was contemplating removing the movie from the DVD player and throwing it out of the window. _Summer Stock_ was yet another corny candyfloss of a musical, and quite possibly the original 'let's do the show right here!' film. Not one of the songs was particularly classy and none of them were anything Santana would sing in a million years. It was a film about putting on a show in a barn, and ridiculously, now that the show was being performed, it was a bloody big barn! Santana prayed the torture would be over soon, there couldn't be that much film left; and she still had no clue what song to sing. Santana picked up her phone to text Brittany to find out how her movie ordeal was going at Tina's; it couldn't be as bad as this.

Suddenly Judy Garland, dressed all in leotard, jacket and little black hat, began to sing a song that had Santana glued to the screen. Santana knew instantly she had to sing that song on Friday. It was just so cool and smooth and classy, she couldn't not! She quickly got her laptop out to find the lyrics online, not bothering to pay any more attention to the rest of the film.

…

Friday came and Santana found she was oddly excited. She couldn't wait to perform her song (not that she'd ever admit it). Brittany was equally elated. In the changing rooms after Cheerios practice that morning Brittany was driving herself loopy. She was obviously desperate to tell Santana all about her and Tina's number while at the same time forced to bite her tongue as she wanted to keep it a surprise. Santana knew her best friend needed something to take her mind off Glee Club. Luckily the head cheerleader knew exactly what made a good distraction in the privacy of a now empty locker room. It was a pleasant diversion for herself as well.

…

"Right guys, are we ready for our classy musical numbers?" asked Mr Shue.

He had booked the auditorium and the Jazz band was there with everyone's music. They had agreed to go in order of the DVDs Mr Shue had handed out. This meant Mercedes, Mike and Finn were up first. Their costume choice was rather conservative, the guys in shirts and grey pants and Mercedes in a colourful summer dress.

"Right." said Finn, taking centre stage. "Our film was _Singing In The Rain. _It was a difficult choice, which song to sing, but we decided on _'Good Morning'_… um… Thank you."

With that the band began to play and the threesome sang a jolly, playful song about saying good morning after staying up all night. There was also some dancing, and bless him Finn did his best but Mike was dancing rings around the both of them. Santana was also slightly in awe of Mercedes, she hadn't seen her that cheerful and bubbly since the _Walking on Sunshine_ number last year. All three of them were obviously enjoying themselves and their number was great fun to watch. There was much applause afterwards.

Puck and Matt took the stage next in dinner jackets and bow ties.

"Our song choice was easy. Our film was _High Society_ and we shall be singing _'What A Swell Party This Is'_. Enjoy!"

The band began again. As the boys sang Santana couldn't help smiling. The guys were having such a great time with the song. Puck had actually taken the Bing Crosby part of the song, leaving Matt to be Frank. The song was funny and smooth, a very good choice. When the song was over there was more applause.

Santana applauded loudly when Brittany came on stage next with Tina; both wearing sparkly cocktail dresses. Tina took central stage.

"Our film was _Gentlemen Prefer Blondes_." said Tina. "We decided to sing _Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend_."

The two girls took it in turns to sing the verses. It was sweet and they made it funny with a very clever dance number which began quite daintily but ended in a fight over a diamond necklace. The song was concluded to loud cheers from the rest of Glee club. Santana could see why Brittany had wanted to keep it a surprise, they were amazing.

Quinn and Artie came on next.

"Our DVD was _Shall We Dance_." said Artie, "And we would like to sing to you '_Let's Call The Whole Thing Off'_."

The jazz band, who were working like troopers, played the intro and Quinn and Artie began the duet. It was a cute and funny song, and they had worked out some simple choreography to go with it. They actually made quite a cute couple. Boy, Quinn, the bitch queen from hell, had really changed in a year! Santana knew if she'd told Quinn last year that she would have to sing and hold hands with the wheelchair kid she would have laughed in her face! Having a baby had really mellowed that girl out. When they were finished there was more enthusiastic applause.

Next up was Kurt and Rachel.

"We shall be performing '_So In Love'_ from _Kiss Me Kate_. Thank you!"

This time the only accompaniment was Brad on the piano. They were dress like rejects from a Shakespeare play and when Rachel and Kurt began to sing a love song to each other Santana had to hide a laugh. The amusement lasted for just a moment though as they song they were singing was beautiful, and credit where its due they made a very good pair. Kurt was singing slightly lower that his normal octave, kind of like the time he was pretending to be straight. It really suited the song. Rachel was obviously have a great time as well, playing with harmonies and melody. The applause when they were finished was equally ecstatic.

Now it was Santana's turn. She'd got a costume together, borrowing a leotard from Brittany and a jacket and hat from the Glee prop box. She knew she looked hot which always boosted her confidence.

"My film was _Summer Stock_." explained Santana as she took to the stage. "And I shall be singing '_Get Happy'_."

The jazz band started up and Santana began to sing. She had watched the number on the DVD over and over to get the routine just right; copying Judy Garland's key moves until she had got them down pat. Santana was singing, swaying and smiling with delight, it felt wonderful. When she was finished there was another huge round of applause from Glee Club.

Mr Shue looked delighted.

"That was amazing guys." He exclaimed, "Amazing. You guys really got into this project – I am so proud of you. You all found some very classy show tunes and you have done a creative and quite frankly brilliant job of bringing them to life."

Glee Club cheered.

"There is just one little thing I'd like to point out." He said, before exploding into the jazz hands pose.

Santana burst out laughing, some of the others were slightly slower on the uptake. Every single one of them had used jazz hands in their number, even Rachel and Kurt. Hell, Santana's dance routine had been almost exclusively made up of the pose.

"You can't do a show tune without it." said Mr Shue, smiling.

**One down - two to go.**


	2. Girls vs Boys Again

**I do not own Glee or any of the music mentioned.**

Santana couldn't exactly put her finger on it but something was wrong with Glee Club. They seemed to have lost their edge. Everyone was getting on and respecting one another and it was making for a very mundane time. There was no conflict anymore; they were lost in the apathy of contentment.

Now Quinn was best friends with Mercedes and therefore by default Tina, Artie, and Kurt, she had put her bitchiness on the backburner. Rachel, now so in love with Finn, was no longer hogging the spotlight and so everyone was getting a shot at solos which made Kurt and Mercedes content. Puck was on his best behaviour. Although technically still Santana's on/off boyfriend, he was alternately lusting after, Quinn, Rachel and Mercedes and desperately trying to impress them all. Santana had tried to keep up her end with a few well-placed insults. Only the last time she had insulted Kurt, Brittany had got so mad at her they didn't speak for a week. Santana limited herself now to sarcasm, which was safer. Mainly because Brittany usually couldn't tell she was being rude. No, lately things had gotten very, very cosy at Glee and Santana didn't like it one bit. She was almost relived when Mr Shue called them on it, he had noticed it too.

…

"Guys, where is your fire?" Mr Shue asked, "Your energy? I'm not saying it isn't great that you are all getting along so well. It's just in the process you many of you seem to have lost your passion. Where has it gone?"

Finn answered the question for everyone, he just shrugged.

"Do you think any of the great bands got where they are today by taking the easy way, by coasting along. No, they pushed the boundaries, stretched themselves every day. You have talent but to be great you also need to have drive!"

Mr Shue got them all to stand up.

"Right we will have girls verses boys." He said splitting up the group. "By the end of the week I want to see you perform a mash-up of two successful artists or bands, one modern and one old school; musicians at the peak of their game. I want to see the same energy you gave me last year, only this time without the aid of drugs. There will be a surprise for the winning team. Any questions?"

There was a general mumbling but no reply. Santana and Brittany exchanged excited looks but no one else seemed bothered. They were by now too use to Mr Shue's lame assignments. Sure everyone would sing and dance but they seemed to have lost all sense of competition.

…

Santana was concerned, no one seemed to be taking the lead on the assignment. Last time Rachel had found the songs, arranged the music and designed the choreography. Santana didn't know what to do. She didn't want to call the girls out on it because that would show she was keen and that would be damaging for her reputation. She also couldn't sit back and do nothing. Every year Coach Sylvester drilled the will to win into every one of her cheerios, adding that to Santana's already very competitive nature meant she couldn't bear to give this assignment anything less than a hundred per cent.

That is why that evening, after stealing some CDs from her dad's car, Santana pulled up all the music files on her laptop. If the other girls weren't going to get anything done, she would have to do it herself.

…

Santana tried every kind of combination to try and find a mash-up. It was a lot harder than it looked. She was working her way through her dad's classic rock albums but the old rock and the modern dance tracks she was trying to match then too simply weren't gelling. Every time she thought she'd got something, she would sing it to herself and find it didn't work. She had a whole new respect for Rachel's skill; that _Halo/Walking On Sunshine_ number was a work of genius. Santana couldn't even find a verse of one song to go with the chorus of another. In the end she decided to pick one artist and work it out from there. She was now down to a short list of Lady Gaga songs and was listening to them once again. On headphones the last of her dad's CDs, Atomic by Blondie, was simultaneously playing in one ear. Then she heard it, during the musical interlude in the Lady Gaga song the tunes seemed to match if only for a second. It took her many more hours to refine it and get it down on paper, but she had finally found it, a Lady Gaga/Blondie mash-up - '_Lovegame'_ and '_One Way Or Another'_. It was 2 o'clock in the morning before she finally got to bed.

…

Santana's next problem was presenting the mash-up to the other girls. She refused to go directly to Rachel on the grounds that she was still Head Cheerio and admitting any sort of kinship to 'Beriberi' was social suicide. Mercedes and Tina were also out because it was sure to get back to Quinn, and despite her current niceness, Santana knew her old friend would love the opportunity to bring her down a peg or two. That left Brittany and Santana quickly realised Brittany was the only person she would need.

…

"So," Santana asked, catching Brittany in the corridor on their way to Home Room. "Are you excited about the Glee assignment?"

"I thought I was." said Brittany, "But no one else seems to be bothered so I'm not sure."

Santana pulled her friend to one side and in conspiratory whisper said,

"I'm bothered. So I kind of made a start on the project myself and I could use your help."

Brittany looked at her friend with a slightly bemused expression.

"Is that not kind of geeky?" Brittany whispered back.

"I want to win. Don't you?"

"Of course." replied Brittany. "I want to know what the surprise is – maybe a puppy?"

Santana smiled.

"If we work out the choreography and stuff together then I thought you could present it to the other girls."

"Won't that make me look like the geek freak?"

"No." insisted Santana, "They all love you and would be totally cool about it. It would only be a bad thing if they found out it came from me."

Brittany didn't look convinced.

"And if you help with the choreography." said Santana, "It would kind of be your project too anyway."

Santana watched as her best friend thought it over.

"I would be very grateful." added Santana with a sexy pout.

That was the convincer. Brittany sighed and said,

"Okay. When do you want to start?"

"Could we maybe do it round yours this evening?"

"Sure. No problem! Bring the backing track and we will work on the moves."

"Backing track?"

"Yeah, I think Rachel gets the piano man to do them. You need the music to sing and dance to."

Santana frowned. This project was getting more complicated by the minute. Not for the first time she wondered why she was bothering.

"Fine I'll see Brad at lunch time and get the backing track."

"Cool." said Brittany. "So who are we mushing up anyway?"

"Blondie and Gaga."

Brittany's smile grew broader. She definitely approved. Relieved, Santana held up her pinkie and the two best friends linked hands, heading off to class.

…

Santana found Brad sat at the piano in the choir room. He was hard at work on a piece of music. Santana wasn't entirely sure what Brad did exactly, apart from play the piano. Only that he was always around in an eerie, serial killer kind of way. Santana couldn't even remember if she had ever heard him speak. The room was empty so Santana thought it would be safest to get straight to the point.

"I understand I need to see you about getting a backing track for our Glee assignment." she said.

Brad visibly wilted at her request.

"What songs are you doing for your mash-up?" he asked, seeming suddenly depressed.

Santana wasn't sure what to make of his attitude.

"Blondie's _One Way or Another_ and Lady Gaga's _Lovegame_."

Brad looked resigned,

"Give me a couple of days and I'll get the mash-up for you."

"Days?" asked Santana, "I need it by tonight."

"Look sweetheart…"

Santana frowned, not many people got to call her sweetheart and live to tell the tale.

"… You've picked two really tricky songs." Brad explained. "It will take me all evening just to sort out the music."

Now Santana was very confused.

"I have the music." she said, digging it out of her bag. "I spent all last night working on it. I just need a backing track so we can work on the choreography."

Brad took the music from her open hand and flicked through it. He looked like he was about to cry.

"You did it yourself?" he gasped. "Usually you kids just give me the songs and I have to work out the numbers. I don't think even Mr Shue realises how hard it is to arrange so many choral versions of so many un-choral songs."

A moment of realisation struck and Santana saw the piano man in a new light. Rachel hadn't been the genius that came up with the _Halo_ mash-up, it had been Brad. It was kind of obvious now she thought about it. As if the boys could have come up with their arrangement for _It's My Life /Confessions_ on their own.

Brad had taken Santana's music to the piano and begun to play the introduction.

"This isn't bad." he said, "Although could I make a few suggestions…"

Reluctantly Santana joined him at the piano; but after a few minutes she was sat beside him on the piano stool, wondering why she had ever found him creepy. They worked through the number together all through break. Brad suggested some key changes to accommodate Rachel and Mercedes musical range as well as shuffling around a few of the verses. Santana discussed a few ideas of her own she just hadn't had the skill to put into music. By the time the bell went for next period the song was finished and Brad promised Santana a copy of her track by the end of the day.

Santana left with a spring in her step – another of her problems had been solved. If Brad wrote everybody's music, then the other girls would have no trouble believing that Brittany had got Brad to write the mash-up. Santana should be able to keep her reputation intact and no one would know how much she secretly adored Glee Club and how much she desperately wanted to win this assignment.

…

That night at Brittany's had been very productive and the dance routine was quickly worked out. The rest of the evening was spent trying to find a way to present it all to the other girls. Next morning Santana put a call round requesting them all to meet up in the choir room during first break.

When everyone arrived Santana made the announcement.

"As everyone seems too lazy to care about this week's assignment, we have done it ourselves."

"We?" asked Quinn, smirking.

Santana scowled at her, daring Quinn to contradict her, before remembering all the credit was supposed to be going to Brittany. She quickly attempted a look of innocence which only made Quinn narrow her eyes.

Brittany then took over with the rehearsed lines.

"Brad helped arrange the music for the mash-up." said Brittany, happy with the fact that technically this wasn't a lie. "And I worked out the choreography last night with Santana's help." Again technically not a lie.

Rachel nodded,

"Brad always helps with the mash-up assignments."

Tina and Mercedes seemed to buy Brittany's explanation and accepted the sheet music from her. Quinn still stared suspiciously at Santana.

"Lady Gaga and Blondie," said Tina, "Interesting choice."

"Let's get started." said Santana getting to her feet. "We need this to be good if we are going to beat the boys!"

The other girls slowly got up and stood where Brittany directed as she went through the routine. They sang along to the backing track and followed the steps and at first it seemed they were just going through the motions, but things changed.

Rachel and Tina adored the harmonies Santana had created, and everyone was revelling in the solos she had tried hard to include. The best part was the competing echoes that Santana had discovered mixing the choruses, the rivalry between Rachel and Mercedes was back as they each tried to outdo the other.

The choreography was also amazingly fun and everyone was laughing and joking and it was beginning to feel like the old days again, before the peace.

They spent the rest of the week refining the routine and arranging costumes and the set ready for the big day.

…

"Guys, I hope you are all fired up and ready to go!" exclaimed Mr Shue.

The choir room had been transformed on one side to a beach and on the other to a nightclub.

"Girls, why don't you go first."

Tina, Quinn and Rachel, dressed in red, crouched down in centre stage of the nightclub end, while Santana, Brittany and Mercedes, all in black stood behind arms wide. The intro began and the girls sang the first verse of _Lovegame_, Blondie wouldn't come in until after the first chorus. The song and the routine, a stylised battle, went spectacularly well and the boys all applauded when they were through.

The boys then took to the stage at the beach end. They were all dressed in loud Hawaiian shirts and Bermuda shorts. They sang in harmony _California Girls_ by the Beach Boys, before rocking out with _California Girls_ by Katy Perry. It was a good number and the routine was quite fun. Obviously the boys had also rediscovered their mojo. Santana looked sideways at Brad at the piano. He smiled back obviously pleased with his work. When the boys were done the girls gave them a standing ovation.

"Those were great numbers." said Mr Shue. "And it is so great to see you all fired up again. You are all winners!"

There were more cheers.

"Although I must make a special mention," he said suddenly serious, "Santana will you stand up!"

"_No." _thought Santana, but everyone's eyes were on her. Reluctantly she got to her feet.

"Brad tells me that Santana is a very talented young lady, who singlehandedly arranged and produced the girl's number. Now that's the kind of passion I love to see! Don't you think that deserves some more applause?"

The Glee Club dutifully clapped. Santana's emotions were veering between anger, fear and delight. At the moment anger seemed to be winning; especially when she saw Quinn smirk. After all her hard work keeping it secret to protect her reputation, Mr Shue blew it all in a matter of moments.

Then Santana felt a warm hand clasp her own and she looked down to see Brittany smiling at her with bright puppy-dog eyes. That fixed it; Santana could never stay angry when Brittany was around. Hell, she was Santana Lopez, she was indestructible, the envy and idol of all. What did she have to be afraid or ashamed of? Santana smiled confidently back at Quinn and gave the Glee Club a small bow before retaking her seat.

"And so to your prize," said Mr Shue. "There is a bus leaving school grounds at 11am next Saturday morning. Dress casually. I am taking you somewhere to well and truly relight your fires."


	3. The Prize

**I do not own Glee or any of the music mentioned.**

Saturday came and Santana wandered reluctantly across the school parking lot to the coach. It felt very strange to be on school grounds and not be in her cheerio uniform. Mr Shue had said dress casual so she wore jeans and a shirt and wore her hair down which was a nice change. Brittany was already there talking to Kurt. Out of everyone present he, as always, seemed to have the most peculiar idea of casual dress, he wore tailored trousers, striped shirt ,neckerchief, tank top and a tweed cap.

"Great guys, you all made it!" said Mr Shue. "Now we are off on a mystery tour. I hope you are all ready for an adventure."

Santana quickly caught up with Brittany and they pushed their way to the back seat.

"I don't know why I let you talk me into this." Santana whispered, while they waited for Artie to be lifted aboard, "You do know this is going to be lame."

"It's our prize." said Brittany pouting, "And you deserve it most of all."

Santana didn't look convinced.

"Well anyway." said Brittany, "I think this is going to be fun!"

"If you say so." said Santana under her breath, but she gave her best friend an encouraging smile.

…

Santana was enjoying sitting alone at the back of the bus with her best friend. The bus was driving through some nice scenery and Brittany's head was resting on her shoulder. After a while though Brittany's head was getting kind of heavy and a damp feeling on her chest meant there was definitely a drool situation. Santana realised her friend was fast asleep. Before Santana could wake her up however the coach driver took a corner a little too fast. Brittany's head went with the momentum of the bus and Santana winced as it crashed into the window.

Everyone turned around; Brittany's head hitting glass had made quite a loud thump.

"Ow!" gasped Brittany, instantly awake and holding her head.

"Let me see!" said Santana pulling her hand away.

Her forehead was red where it had hit the glass and a lump was already swelling. Mr Shue appeared.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"She hit her head. I think we may need some ice."

Of course being on a bus meant there was no ice so they settled with damp cloth, well Kurt's neckerchief which he kindly donated.

Quite a group of concerned onlookers gathered as Santana tended to Brittany's injury. Kurt had joined them almost at once, but Mercedes, Rachel and Quinn were now surrounding them as well.

"How many fingers am I holding up?" asked Rachel frantically waving four fingers in front of Brittany's face.

"How many am I holding up?" replied Santana flipping Rachel the bird. Rachel gave Santana dirty look but backed off.

Brittany was clearly enjoying the attention especially when Mercedes given her a candy bar (for the shock you understand).

"It's not going to be that bad a bruise." said Quinn, "A bit of make-up would disguise it in an instant!"

"It was just a bit of bad luck, the driver swerving so fast." said Rachel.

Santana just scowled at her.

Half looking out of the window Santana started to recognise the scenery, they were heading for Dayton. This narrowed the options for their adventure down considerably.

…

Their surprise was revealed when the coach pulled up outside a theatre.

"Guy's we are here to see the traveling production of_ Rent_. We have tickets for the matinee performance. I thought you deserved the opportunity to see a real show!"

Kurt, Tina and Rachel were suddenly very excited.

"Isn't this show kind of gay?" Santana asked, remembering reviews for the film version a few years back.

"Alright!" exclaimed Puck, he had noticed two women hugging on the poster.

"Where did the money come from?" asked Quinn.

"Kurt sold your Lady Gaga costumes online." explained Mr Shue. "Glee club made more than enough to cover this trip."

…

The show just blew everyone away. On the trip home on the bus it was the only topic of conversation.

"We should so do that show!" exclaimed Rachel, Kurt was nodding in agreement.

"We could cast it easy." said Tina equally excited. "Puck as Roger."

"Puck Rogers?" asked Brittany, she had been feeling the bump on her forehead and not quite following the conversation. Santana shushed her.

"So who would play Mark?" asked Quinn. "I don't really see Finn it that role somehow – no offense."

"None taken." said Finn. "I think Artie should do it. He's already the AV club wiz."

"And we already have our Maureen and Joanne." said Puck smirking at Santana and Brittany. Santana narrowed her eyes at him. She was slightly annoyed. She saw herself more as Mimi. She wasn't the only one to disagree.

"I don't see it myself." said Finn.

"But Kurt is definitely Angel." said Brittany.

"And I could be Mimi!" said Rachel never the introvert.

"No I think not." said Quinn.

"Why not?"

"She's a lap dancer - Sex on legs." explained Mercedes.

"Who then?" demanded Rachel.

Santana felt much better when everyone turned back to look at her again.

"It doesn't matter anyway." said Santana, who'd had an idea. "We are a Glee Club not a drama club." She paused for a moment letting this sink in. "But that doesn't mean we couldn't perform the songs."

"How do you mean?" asked Mercedes.

"I don't know." said Santana shrugging. She didn't want to say her idea out loud, she had a reputation as a hard ass to maintain after all. She also knew she didn't have to, she could see the gears working in Finn's brain.

"We could do a thank you medley for Mr Shue." whispered Finn. Santana smiled, he'd got it.

"We could give Brad the music first thing on Monday." exclaimed Rachel before lowering her voice so Mr Shue couldn't hear, "And we would have something by Friday."

"I think Brad deserves a thank you too, all the music he arranges." said Artie.

"We should do it ourselves." said Kurt.

This got a mixed reaction. Santana certainly agreed with Artie.

So it was arranged that on Monday they would meet round Rachel's house to work on the project.

…

Everyone turned up at Rachel's house as promised. Discussion quickly turned to the music choice. Everyone had a different favourite.

"We should be the Bohemia song!" exclaimed Brittany.

"You do know what that songs about?" asked Santana.

"Sex and drugs." said the blonde simply.

Santana nodded surprised.

"Pretty much!"

"Not sure it's the best choice," said Tina, "If Mr Figgin's catches us singing about bondage and bisexuals he would definitely cancel Glee."

Rather self-consciously Santana reached into her school bag.

"I have few ideas." she said putting a pile of sheet music on the coffee table.

She had spent the whole of Sunday working on the medley, picking songs and discarding others. Her favourite song had been the _"Going out" _song by Mimi but it just didn't fit in the medley.

Curious hands grabbed her notes and there was silence as the group went through them.

"This is brilliant." said Rachel in an astounded whisper.

"Well that makes it easy." said Puck. He was looking at Santana obviously impressed.

"There is still a lot of work to do." said Santana desperate to avoid the attention. She was horrified to discover she was the only one to do any form of preparation. So much for her bad ass-ness; her only hope now was to front it out.

"I can help you work on the music." offered Artie. Santana nodded. She was sagging inside however. She'd had hopes of handing over her notes and taking a back seat while the geeks took over.

"And then there is the choreography." exclaimed Mike, nodding to Brittany. She was too busy feeling the almost invisible bump on her forehead. Santana nudge her friend.

"Choreography!" she prompted

"Definitely." said Brittany, suddenly smiling brightly.

"And costumes." added Kurt excitedly.

"And arranging solos and parts." said Rachel, who was already taking a pencil to her copy of the music.

…

By Friday it had all come together. The auditorium was booked and the Jazz band was all present. Rachel and Finn went to find Mr Shue to invite him to the auditorium. Tina and Artie went to invite Brad the piano man. Santana would have liked to have been there but obviously she had her reputation to think of. She'd done enough damage this week as it was.

…

Rachel was in front of the curtain to give the introduction.

"Mr Shue, Brad . We all know how much work you both put into Glee Club and we want to know we are grateful. We were all really inspired by our visit to the theatre and would like to perform a thank you medley from _Rent_."

The curtain rose and the group was stood in a half circle with Puck in the centre. Rachel joined the chorus. Puck started off the round as they performed the first song '_Will I?'._ Soon the whole of Glee was joining in – the harmonies had been the hardest thing to work out but Rachel had been surprisingly patient with them as they went through it.

Finn and Kurt then took the lead to perform _'I'll Cover You.'_ Santana had been impressed with Finn when he volunteered to sing a love song between two guys, especial knowing about Kurt's earlier crush and that he had got himself a very good version of Angel's christmas costume. But Finn was fearless. Santana wondered sometimes whether she should follow his example. The choreography eased hise discomfort somewhat as they were singing to everyone in the group rather than each other.

Rachel then took the lead with '_Without You' _which Santana and Artie had worked into a mash-up with_ 'Goodbye Love'._ Santana had been secretly delighted when the group had suggested she sing the second song in the mash-up. She gave it her all, not even minding that she was singing with Rachel. It was the first time she had ever sang a duet with the diva and was pleased that she was able to hold her own.

Finally the group sang _'Seasons of Love'_. Mercedes and Arties were rocking it with the solos and when they were finished the whole group was grinning. Both Brad and Mr Shue were smiling and clapping. Santana thought she could see tears in Brad's eyes. She felt wonderfully warm inside and gave a surprised Brittany a big hug of pure happiness.

"Ow." cried Brittany as their foreheads met with a whack, right in Brittany's sore spot.

**I also don't own Rent or any of the songs in it. I didn't want to mention it on top and spoil the surprise.**

**Sorry this story took so long to update. I couldn't decide what show to send them to and them my mate lent me Rent. Ta Chaz!**


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